iThink We're Alone Now
by DoctrineDark
Summary: While Freddie recovers from a near-fatal accident, Carly's newfound attraction sees it as a sign to repay her best friend's dedicated heroism. An alternate adaptation of a Creddie episode's segment.
1. iF I Fell

**ATTENTION:** The chapters of this fic are reupdated for a few errors and discrepancies.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own iCarly and its characters (and for this chapter, even the dialogues!) With that in mind, I guess it's not anymore necessary to mention which iCarly episode this mini-fic is based from. :D

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**iF I Fell  
**

Mrs. Benson led the teenage girl holding a tray of multicolored cupcakes inside her son's bedroom. They stood in the middle of the spacious sanctuary filled with various computers and collectibles of her son.

Carly looked around the room and cheerfully asked, "Where is he?"

The woman replied coldly, "In the shower. His first cleansing since the _accident_ you caused." Her eyes wide for emphasis, she gestured to the door behind her where a gentle sprinkling sound emanated.

The girl sighed, "Mrs. Benson..." but the woman quickly retorted with a grunt and extended an open palm just an inch from Carly's face, an indication that she doesn't want any argument.

Mrs. Benson resumed, "I have to go to the pharmacy to take his medicine."

She called back towards the bathroom, "Freddie, I'll be back in thirty-six minutes." before she headed towards the door.

Relief should have taken over Carly but she went wide-eyed as Mrs. Benson bent over her shoulder with a dangerous hiss. "It should have been yooouuu..."

The lass froze in place, still open-eyed at Mrs. Benson's taunt. Though her motherly antics usually crossed the line called lunacy, she and Carly usually went along well despite Carly's usual rejections over her son. Aware that she's involved in Freddie's current condition, Carly rather understood this disdainful treatment given to her by his mom.

Looking back to see Mrs. Benson fully leave the apartment, Carly made her silent sigh of relief. It seemed she and Freddie will have some alone time now. After she placed the tray of cupcakes on a nearby table, Carly began to roam in the room, skimming through the techie gadgets of her geeky friend. She tried out one of his handheld games of Galaxy Wars, and then she looked around the bunch of action figures atop a huge dresser. Freddie's quite fond of such space marines and soldiers as well as those weird structures seen in the films. Carly made a silent giggle when she noticed Freddie's white jewelry box and his dresser's drawers are correspondingly labeled.

Still pacing across the room, she decided to check out on his set of computers by the window, but somehow she had reached for the door of the nearby closet instead. She turned it open and saw a row of Freddie's ironed shirts, but what caught her attention was the inner side of the door. Tacked on the wood is a huge close-up poster of Carly herself, probably printed out by Freddie. Carly blinked with a smile as she stared on the portrait almost the same size as her and felt a warm flush of crimson on her cheeks.

Her smile faded when she heard a splash of water and Freddie's groan from the bathroom. "Freddie!" She quickly shut the closet and sprinted towards the bathroom.

Freddie called out, "Mom?"

Glad that Freddie is not harmed again, Carly replied, "No, it's Carly. Your mom left. What happened?"

"I fell."

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I can get up."

"Alright, I'll come get you." Carly offered, stepping forward to enter the bathroom.

"NO!" Freddie's voice was alarmed, reminiscent of his pre-puberty accent. "Don't come in here!"

Carly retreated, "Why not?"

"Cause..." Freddie's voice became even more high-pitched, "I'm in the shower!"

Carly tried to think fast as she heard another groan from Freddie. "Well, you just can't lie in the shower floor for thirty-six minutes!"

In a slight state of panic, she looked around the room and yelled, "Just a sec!"

She quickly ran back towards Freddie's dresser and took the scuba goggles beside the action figures. Not minding the labels, she pulled open his drawers for some sort of cover on her eyes. She opened the closest drawer and pulled out one of his anti-bac briefs ("_Aaaah!_", she shrieked) She quickly threw back the underwear into the drawer and shut it, then opened another one with some fresh anti-bac socks and picked up a pair.

She called out, "Hang on!" Stuffing the socks below the visor, she pulled the goggles over her eyes.

Carly walked tentatively blind as she headed back towards the bathroom, her arms outstretched. "Alright Freddie, I can't see anything. I'm coming in – ugh!" She tripped against the room's curb, falling face down and knocking the wind out of her. Frantically, she stood back up and held her arms forward again as she took more steps, not minding the pain of her stubbed toes.

"Where are you?" She called once again as she moved her way to the bathroom.

Freddie had slipped onto the floor, but fortunately he didn't suffer a head concussion. He spoke, "Down here. Can you turn off the water?"

Her sleeve sprayed with water, Carly blindly reached for wall and shut the water knob off. "Yeah, here."

She felt Freddie's bandaged arm with her fingers as she helped him stand up with the other arm. "Ow, easy."

"Just move slowly."

Freddie gasped, "OK, wait let me get my robe."

After he had donned the garment, Carly instructed, "Put your arm up here." She felt Freddie's weight as she slung his damp uninjured arm around her shoulders.

Carly resumed walking blindly out of the bathroom. "Are we walking the right way?"

"Just keep going."

Carly felt Freddie's discomfort when they stepped down the room's curb. "It hurt?"

"Well, it doesn't feel good!" he grunted.

"Where's your bed?"

Freddie patted his bed at arm's reach. "It's right here. I'll sit first."

Carly said, "Get into the cover." She heard Freddie moan as he moved under the blankets.

He replied, "Yeah, I'm doing it." followed by more groans of discomfort over his injured arm and leg.

"You got it?"

"OK, you take off the goggles." Freddie assured her.

She complied and chucked the sock-stuffed goggles on the bed. Carly muttered an audible whew, combing her damp hair with her fingers.

"That was scary..." With a gesture on her entire left sleeve, she added, "...and wet."

Freddie smiled, "Yeah, thanks for helping me." while he pulled off the plastic covers from his bandaged arm and leg cast.

She scoffed, "Ugh, don't say things."

"Why shouldn't I?"

Carly's voice broke and answered guiltily, "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't need my help."

Freddie sensed the sudden change of her voice, but he tried to keep the mood cheery. "Would you stop saying that?"

The girl looked at him and spoke sadly, "You know, everyone at school's saying you're a hero."

"That's dumb."

"You are!" Carly insisted. It seemed to her that Freddie was not taking her seriously.

"No, I'm not."

Carly interrupted with a raised voice, "You almost got killed saving my life!" She was shocked at her sudden outburst, yet she clutched her chest and calmed. "...and that makes you a hero."

Freddie was surprised at how upset Carly was now. Sure, he saw her become like this numerous times, but not this time. Feeling a sense of guilt, he wiped off his smile and shrugged, "I don't feel like a hero."

Carly smiled, stepping towards his bed. "Well, you are one..."

She sat beside his prone body with a wider but still sad smile.

"...to me."

Freddie saw that lack of sparkle and gloom in her eyes. But never did he expect what would happen next. He held his own eyes wide but blinked just to make sure he's not dreaming. Check. He's definitely not dreaming. Is this really happening?

Carly's forearm pressed lightly across his chest and laid her small hand on the Galaxy Wars pillow just beside his head. Her face slowly leaned down towards him. In a split second, the gaze of two pairs of dark brown eyes mutually met.

Those pairs of eyes closed the moment Carly's and Freddie's lips had found contact with each other.

* * *

**Author's Note:** OK, I'm aware all the exchanges in this scene are taken from the episode itself, which is why I'm making it like a prologue so I'll have the next chapter in a few days. I want an attempt for some lighthearted Creddie humor after that first fic I wrote.

Besides, I'm glad how iBeat the Heat turned out not to be a shippy episode at all (besides that eye-raising countertop scene) and how Griffin still prioritizes his plush toys. And as of the Victorious episode, seriously, iCarly must not be deprived of a beach episode like that. ^_^

I know I'm rambling now. Nothing beats a hot summer day with a glass of iced tea... with lemon. Comments and critiques are gladly appreciated. Later. :)


	2. iFeel Fine

**Disclaimer:** I don't own iCarly and its characters (and the dialogues in the first segment). *cough* I hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**iFeel Fine  
**

The bedridden youngster braced himself as the girl beside him brought her face towards him. After a mutual short look at their eyes, they finally shut them close and her lips finally connected squarely on his. The room became very silent, regardless of the occasional cracks of thunder and the raindrops splattering on the windowpanes outside. The soft sounds of the two teenagers' lips alternately fusing and parting reigned over them.

Keeping his eyes closed, Freddie still couldn't believe it. _Is this the sensation of being on the other side of Carly's kiss? Is this the way how she kissed that Pee Wee Baby-obsessed jerk Griffin? I did feel good when Valerie kissed me and when I've had my first kiss with Sam, though a rather queasy one with 'Mythical Melanie', but man, finally it's Carly who's been kissing me. My Carly!_

The boy now had both his eyes wide: one had a blank stare at the brightly lit ceiling and the other one tightly gazed on what looked like a female seraph repeatedly kissing him. Along with her flowing pendants, Carly's long black hair brushed softly on his chest as they were both busied nipping and suckling each other's lips.

Several minutes elapsed. Carly pulled back from the kiss and fixed her eyes on Freddie, still in his shocked state, like an absent-minded person whose eyes remained transfixed on the white ceiling.

"You okay?"

Freddie replied dumbly, "What?" He blinked, disoriented of what just occurred.

"Are you okay?" Carly repeated with a chuckle at Freddie's dazed reaction.

Freddie thought he had blinked back to reality and spoke. "Uh, yeah," Yet part of him he wanted to make sure.

He stuttered, "I just… uh, I mean… Could you hand me my Galaxy Wars Stun Blazer?" he asked her, gesturing up to the rack of wooden shelves over his headboard.

"Uh, sure, where…" Carly looked confused over the rows of tech stuff, model kits and electronics above Freddie.

"Right up there."

"Ah." Somehow Carly had seen this from TV commercials, so she became familiar again how it looked like. Of course Freddie would have one of these. She handed the gadget to Freddie, and sat back beside him.

"Thanks." Freddie pushed the switch on what Carly expected to be a toy that whizzed as it powered on. But she watched in horror when Freddie brought the metal end of the gadget into contact just beneath his jaw.

"GAAAAAAAAAAH!" He grunted as the flashing device transferred a surge of real electricity within his system, his body twitching uncontrollably.

The teenage girl sat motionless at what she saw. The Stun Blazer was some form of a handheld taser! At least Freddie did not torture himself too much and powered off the stun gun.

"Why did you do that?"

"Just making sure I was awake!" Freddie reached out his hand and tapped his fingers Carly's forehead, cheeks, and even squeezed her face. "Yep, this is happening!" he breathed rapidly at this discovery of reality.

Carly giggled at his antics. She shot back teasingly with a smile, "You… want it to happen again?"

"Right now?" Freddie asked as his blood raced again.

She nodded eagerly. "Oh yeah, right now."

Freddie could not believe his luck and would not resist such an offer. "S-sure."

Carly laid her arm on his chest and leaned forward once again with eyes closed. This time, Freddie was prepared. He also shut his eyes and met her lips with his full on, hurtling themselves in a moment of blissful sparks.

* * *

Even at this point, Freddie assumed his lips had gone dry throughout. He shyly stuck out his tongue in a rushed attempt to moisten the outer edges of his lips. However, when Carly's lips swept on his tongue, she rather misinterpreted it. Without opening her eyes, she parted her lips and greeted his tongue with hers. Both moaned simultaneously on this misunderstanding of boldness, but the way they teased each other's tongue made them want more and resume that passionate kiss, moving their heads to contrast the angle of the other.

More time passed, Carly's hand restlessly moved beside him. Freddie felt a sudden shock when he felt the fatigue on Carly's arm above him and her bosom had now been pressed against his. The contact of their torsos followed by her hand moving towards a hold on his shoulder has made something slowly rise below him. He didn't know if she was aware of "something" that suddenly grazed her side, but he had to move fast from this "embarrassment". Without breaking from her kisses, he slowly held her arm with his uninjured hand and propped himself by pulling his rear backward to a sitting position.

Their kiss slowly grew in intensity as Carly laid her hands on both his shoulders, while Freddie gently placed his grip on Carly's arms. She tucked her thumbs into the edges of his robe. When he felt the robe gently fall from his shoulders, Freddie decided to pull away from the kiss.

"Carly?"

Carly was also startled. "What's wrong?"

She withdrew a hand's span distance from her sitting position, inevitably having a glance on Freddie's bare torso. Sure, he's not that as buff as her ex, Griffin, but the swell of Freddie's arms and the tone of his chest proved that his sessions in the gym have been paying off compared when she last saw his physique in Spencer's Java-cuzzi. The fact that his robe dangled on the crooks of his arms made her heart throb faster.

"What... what are we... doing?" Freddie panted; his fear of Carly seeing him lying naked in the shower has lost its purpose if it will all lead to this. The throbbing between his thighs didn't help, either.

"Making out? Maybe..." Carly replied in a manner that sounded like sing-song.

"Maybe?" Freddie asked as he pulled his robe back in place.

"Maybe..."

"Maybe what?" Freddie said with a mock irritation.

Carly spoke, "Look, I'm not forgetting I'm indebted to you. If have not pushed me out of the way, I could have been worse as taking that flying hammer in the studio." She traced the mattress absent-mindedly with a finger.

"Comparing the momenta between a hurtling hammer and a speeding taco truck, I'll say I'm still lucky to survive from the latter," Freddie chuckled at his lame geeky joke, but seeing Carly smile made him better.

He added, "But c'mon, you're my best friend. Perhaps it's a best friend's basic instinct to do what I have done."

Carly made a slight sniffle, wiping the dampness on the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. "You know, sometimes I even wonder why I had always rejected you all these times. You've always been there for me, and I'm this inconsiderate friend who always took someone for granted repeatedly. Instead, I'd fawn over those hot guys at school out of nowhere and drool over a bad boy who may anytime dress me up in a Pee Wee suit. You'd always shown loyalty to me... and perhaps, this is a moment I can repay you and that love you had always given me... and for the love that maybe I'm just too afraid to show."

Freddie was stunned and felt his throat dry up. In another embarrassing high-pitch moment, he spoke, "But you're sure we're not taking this too far, too quickly?"

Carly nodded with a stifled laugh when she saw Freddie's shock. "I'm quite sure." Wiping her eyes, she set off her trademark melting smile and a flush of those rosy cheeks, and then spoke those three words.

"Please... for me?"

Freddie's blood was like a Proton Cruiser that raced into overdrive when he heard those _deadly_ magical words. _Deadly_ in the sense that he's forever cursed not to resist a _Carly-mainly-benefits-in-this_ request with these words, but this time it's very different. He retorted with that sickeningly cute eyebrow raise and Elvis grin that Carly had seen numerous times, especially in Japan. Guess their "honeymoon" will be in another room after all... his own room, in fact.

Pulling back the dark blue blankets, both brunettes fell into another tight embrace and union of lips. This time they cupped each other's faces, enjoying the friction of their cheeks and noses rubbing against each other aside from that longing for more bodily contact. That candlelight of passion rose into an ember as Carly climbed onto the bed in a kneel-sitting position without breaking their connection. Freddie didn't even feel the aching soreness on his injured leg as he moved back to have Carly beside him. His present sensation had numbed any form of pain from the accident he suffered on behalf of the friend he longed for and he's now in front of.

Carly once again attempted to disrobe him, this time he gave his full consent. Drawing his arms out of the robe, Freddie cupped the back of her neck to bring her face forward and rained kisses on her plump cheeks. Carly shut her eyes tight while her hands ran around his chest, exploring the hints of muscle she could find. She smiled as he heard him groan after playfully circling his aroused nipples and flicking them with her thumbs.

Freddie reveled at Carly's touch and his hands took time to explore her torso even in its fully-clothed form. The way he ran his hands to the contours of her body made her blood rush wild. His hand trekked down her spine to the edges of her denim pants. He snickered as she yelped when he gave her butt a playful slap, before tucking his thumbs into her waistband and each traveled half-circumference to the button of her jeans. With a slight tug, the metal disc broke free and his fingers slid down the zipper of her pants.

Still cupping his face, Carly lifted herself to stand on her knees and allowed Freddie to push the jeans halfway down, before returning to her previous position and shoving the pants out of those cream-complexioned legs Freddie had always seen. But Carly's seductive gaze told him of the new "attraction": lilac-colored lace panties showed up to contrast the snowy skin of her thighs below those accursed shirts.

Freddie's breathing came in a more rapid pace. He sat in place in a while to allow himself to skim on Carly as she finally noticed the erection he's having. Her nervous giggle made Freddie aware that he had just became hard. She undid the knot of the robe's girdle on his waist and Freddie allowed her to pull it off. He saw her eyes widen and her crimson cheeks blushed into a furious scarlet. He remained in a stalwart posture as though his manhood is "not-too-noticeable".

"W-wow, Freddie..." Carly stuttered, lost for words. Her eyes fixed on Freddie, who's only covered in the bandages on his arm and leg cast but her peripheral vision still caught sight of his erection. "...you've got one big gift there." She bit her lip with a suppressed giggle and tried to have her eyes wander around and catch his reaction.

Though embarrassed, Freddie replied valiantly, "_Gracias, mi bonita_," with an air like a Spanish knight: A knight with no armor, literally.

Carly laced her arms around his nape with locked fingers before uniting her lips again with his. His massaging grip on her sides and the slight grinding of their hips drove her senses wild as they deepened the kiss. She grasped his broadened shoulders, enough that her nails gently dug into his skin, as a signal for a short stop. Freddie felt the sting, and they parted for the much needed breaths.

The lass grumbled as she looked on her shirt, "It's unfair. Your clothes, er- bathrobe went all over with easily…"

Freddie crossed his arms and sentenced her, "Now, your turn." with another eye-raise and smirk combo.

_Damn that cute smile of yours, Benson_, Carly thought with a blushing smile. _No wonder you had girls ask you for that Girl's Choice Dance. Three is not a huge number, but still... _

Crossing her arms in front of her, Carly lifted the hem of her pink and orange floral tank top and pulled it above her head, throwing the shirt on the floor behind her. Her mane fell back on her shoulders and her necklaces clinked down her chest accordingly.

Freddie was just amazed how the gray shirt emphasized Carly's features: her shoulders, bust, waist, hips, and the faint trace of her bra underneath. They once again united with a kiss and Freddie's hands began to roam on Carly's chest as he felt her hug him tighter, pressing herself against his palms. She moaned as he traced the outline of her bra beneath the soft fabric. As he reached the depression between her breasts, he used his palms to cup them both with a gentle massaging motion. He smiled as he felt her squirm.

His hands glided from her bosom to her upper chest and plucked on the short row of buttons down the center of her shirt. Carly moaned as his fingers parted the opening to give gentle kisses on her chest, barely loosening the shirt to expose half of her shoulders. This shirt also needs to go bye-bye as Carly pulled back once again.

This time Freddie helped her take off the damp shirt as Carly obediently raised her arms. He held the shirt while she slightly struggled as the cuffs of her sleeves caught her bangles, but finally she managed to pull out her arms completely. Shoving the shirt out of the bed behind her, she sat back towards Freddie.

The lad gazed intently on the exposed features of Carly, now only clad in her lingerie: her legs, thighs, flat stomach, bellybutton, her subtle pelvic curvatures, and how her lilac satin brassiere hugged her small breasts. Carly smiled as Freddie sat awestruck at her. She held his wrists and brought them again over the cups of her bra and he instantly felt the rising mounds of flesh beneath. They managed to dilute their moans with a kiss as he fervently ministered on her bosoms once again.

Both of their chests beating rapidly, Freddie's hand blindly ran on her spine for the clasp of her bra. Knowing this was one she had custom-made from Build-a-Bra, Carly bent her arm behind her and with a precise twist of a finger, the clasp snapped open and the straps fell loose. Carly bundled her jet-black hair behind her shoulders as Freddie slowly brought the underwear off her arms and chest.

Freddie was even more stunned at the sight of Carly as he took the full view of her naked torso. Bright light shone upon her erect nipples like cherry blossoms on snowy hills, her pendants hung like gems between her breasts from the chains running on her chest. Sure, Carly's definitely not that "gifted", but the subtle curves of her breasts alone was already a sight to behold.

"C-Carly..." The lad stammered, his manhood throbbing even more painfully.

"Yes, Freddie?" Carly feigned innocence in her voice with a slight shiver.

He cleared his throat. "I just knew you're definitely not a twig."

Carly's face flushed even redder. "I'm glad you know."

Rejoining for another kiss, both teens were madly aroused the way their bare chests pressed and freely brushed against each other unlike when they were just making out earlier. Freddie planted soft kisses on Carly's forehead, cheeks and a slow sucking on her neck while his hands gave gentle pressures on her breasts. His trail ran from her clavicles, down the curves of her breasts before finally enclosing one peak with his mouth. He rolled it gently with his tongue while teasing the other between his fingers. Carly arched back with a deep cry that sent her blood tingling as his tongue and the bandage cloths on his hand ran over each bosom. The light tinkle of her pendants as well as Carly's moans of pleasure instructed Freddie to do the same over the other, her fingers grazing his damp hair as Carly pressed him towards her heaving chest.

When Freddie noted that Carly was almost out of breath, he resumed his trail of kisses on her abdomen and navel. However, he dared not cross that laced borderline around her hips. He stopped as he allowed Carly to regain her composure. With a deep breath, Carly lifted herself again and pulled off her final piece of underwear. She tossed both her lingerie behind Freddie with a slightly embarrassed smile.

Freddie's Proton Cruiser now entered maximum hyper drive at the sight of Carly naked right before his eyes. Both of them saw each other's rough panting and hearts beating painfully fast on their chests. Never had they imagined that that accident would lead them in this intimate scene as Carly and Freddie immersed their eyes on each other. He could see the gentle rise and fall of her breasts, the few strands of hair curling over them, and the newly revealed soft patch of flesh between her thighs. Aside from her necklaces and bracelets, Freddie noted that Carly had nothing on... except her socks. _Maybe she'd planned this all along_, he grinned.

Freddie went mind-blank as Carly knelt beside him face to face; tiny light beads of water and perspiration shone over their bodies. He shyly placed his hands over Carly's thighs and Carly retorted by doing so with his, mutually feeling the slight dampness they now had after all of these moments they would never forget.

"Carly, are we really doing this?"

"I'm sure I do, Freddie. Don't you?"

"I dunno. How would we tell Sam about this, just in case?"

"Leave it all to me." The girl smiled, before Freddie gave a subdued sigh. Their lips and bodies fused once again, rubbing against each other in a warm embrace.

Carly sensed a problem in the middle of their kiss, "Freddie?" He moaned. "I wondered if we could have some... uh… you know…" Her eyes gestured at the location between their thighs.

Freddie shrugged with a smirk. "I have it covered." as he continued their kiss with his face focused on her, blindly extending his uninjured arm to open a drawer beside his headboard and fumble for a packet.

Carly giggled beneath the kiss, "You are so bad..." and added, "How come your mom didn't -"

If Carly and Freddie were already enjoying what could be called a good reality, there's also something that's called a bad reality.

A door-slamming sound was audible from a good distance away.

"Freddie! Mommy is home!" Mrs. Benson called out.

His surprise reflex caused Freddie to drop back the packet and slam the drawer shut, catching his ring and pinky fingers into an excruciating mass of pain. He had just suppressed a yelp of shock while Carly froze beside him.

Those eyes filled with passion before had turned into sheer terror and panic as Carly and Freddie looked at each other, their eyes wide open.

_"It's my mom!"_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Looks like someone lost track of the time; such a cruel law of nature. And guys, I wrote this fic as T for a reason. :D

Still working on the 3rd (and perhaps final) chapter of this mini-fic. So that's all for now while I comprehend how I feel uneasy and dirty for this part. ^_^

Pls. read and review. Thanks!


	3. iM in Love

Heya. I apologize for taking long for the update. I've been a bit busy drafting a few "important" future chapters for the sequel of my first fic, but sometimes the extreme heat from the last week had deviated me of that proper inspiration to write. Many thanks to all those who left their reviews for this fic.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own iCarly and its characters. I borrowed segments of the in-episode dialogues and scrambled them to fit the scene. Will Mrs. Benson witness the mind-scarring (at least for her) scene of her son and his love interest? Read on. :)

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**iM in Love  
**

Freddie and Carly looked frantically at each other when Mrs. Benson's voice echoed from the living room towards the open door of Freddie's bedroom.

"Oh my god! The time – Mrs. Benson – I forgot! What will we do?" Carly nervously whispered.

"Uh, uh…" Freddie stuttered; his mind and eyes racing all around the room. "Hide in the bathroom, quick!"

"Right! Wait, what about you?"

He hissed back, "I'll manage. My mom should not see us in this… condition. Go!"

Carly sprinted halfway towards the bathroom when Freddie made a sound behind her, causing her to turn back.

"Your clothes!" Freddie reached on the foot of the bed and tossed Carly's shirts and pants towards her.

Carly looked down her body and blushed scarlet. She looked back at Freddie with a gratified smile as she took her garments, covering her bare front with them. "Thanks, Freddie."

Without another word, she rushed into the bathroom, shutting the wooden door behind her.

Freddie quickly and tightly wrapped himself with his bathrobe. Suddenly feeling all alone, he looked on the mess they just made around his bed. The pain from his arm and leg surging through him once again, he used his other hand to quickly flatten out his blankets in an attempt to hide the wet spots of the mattress beneath.

Glancing on the floor of his room, Freddie's eyes shot wide when he saw both of Carly's underwear lying on one corner beside his bed. Knowing that his time ran short, he limped out of the bed and picked up both articles in a rush. He hopped towards the armoire of his pants and hung the brassiere on its closet door. His mind now almost blank, he quickly went back to bed and shoved Carly's lower undergarment beneath his pillow.

When he felt his mother's footsteps approaching his room, he tossed himself onto the bed and resisted a huge yelp when the intense pain from his leg exploded into his insides. He pulled back the blankets toward his body and acted as if nothing happened, despite his throbbing fingers still painfully stung the nerves of his uninjured arm.

"Hello, Freddie! How's my baby boy?" Mrs. Benson greeted when she stepped back into the room, holding a tray of cuplike shells and Freddie's medications. Freddie groaned upon hearing his mom call him "baby" for perhaps the millionth time.

"I'm alright, Mom." Freddie lied. He was holding out his unscathed arm beside him, wiggling his throbbing fingers to and fro. Marissa suspiciously eyed the movements of her son's fingers and how his hand was bent back, but it seemed she did not notice his fingers are somehow red and swollen.

"I brought you your medicine and some baked mussels!" Mrs. Benson offered, moving the tray of green shells stuffed with the fleshy mollusk and garnished with some indefinable condiments.

"No Mom, I've had enough of those yogurt-filled cucumber cups. I don't want those baked seafood…" Freddie was interrupted when Marissa jabbed a spoonful of his medicine into his mouth.

"Seafood will help you a lot in your recovery, not unlike those fancy cupcakes from your friend which could lead you to severe cases of gingivitis and diabetes." His mother reprimanded, her eyes moving disdainfully on the tray of colored velvet cupcakes on the table.

She tipped one of the shell's contents into Freddie's mouth. He slowly chewed the mass half-heartedly; the piece tasted awful. "What's in these baked mussels?"

"Ginger, garlic cheese, and minced asparagus."

Half of Freddie had the urge to gag. What's up with his mother and her unusual recipe in foods?

"Anyway, where's your friend who almost had you killed?"

Freddie gulped, finally managing to swallow the disgusting taste of the food. "Who, Carly? I dunno, I think she had left…" He was again interrupted when Mrs. Benson fed him another mussel.

"Left? But her shoes are still outside the door."

Freddie almost spat the food in his mouth. If he could only contort himself, he would have kicked himself in the face. Of course his mom won't buy that lie. His mind blanked with stress, he tried to feign gagging as long as he'd move out of the room for a while to buy time and think of further alibis. He had to get Carly out of being stranded in his bathroom one way or another.

"Where are you going?" Marissa inquired.

"Uhm – kitchen, I'll have some blueberry juice. I can manage it, Mom." Freddie replied, supporting himself out of the bed with his crutches and slowly limped out of the room. Marissa caught again the dubious twitching of her son's fingers as he held the crutch.

Marissa looked around her son's bedroom. Everything seemed still nice and orderly, from the clean floor to the blankets of Freddie's bed. She just noticed that the door of her son's armoire was slightly ajar. Marissa approached it and reached for the handle when she indirectly opened the closet. Her eyes opened wide and blinked a few times if she correctly saw the item hanging on the door…

_A brassiere._

Mrs. Benson fished out the underwear by its strap using her pinky finger as she closed the closet door. _Why in the flying fladoodles would my little Freddie hide something like this_? Still trying to comprehend this mystery, she sat on Freddie's bed, her eyes staring incredulously on the bra.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Carly sorted out her garments when she discovered something missing. She then remembered that she had tossed her underwear behind Freddie's side of the bed. With a small gulp, she donned her denim pants and her shirts straight away. She shuddered with discomfort on her clothes' tight grip on her body without wearing anything underneath. Carly leaned on the bathroom door and thought she could hear her heart thumping against the wood like a stethoscope; she quickly backed away from the door and opened it in a very tiny gap to peep on the events in Freddie's room. A soft squeal of shock left her lips when she suddenly saw Mrs. Benson holding something familiar. She closed the door very gently to avoid the clicking sound of the knob, her heart thrumming rapidly.

It took around two minutes for Mrs. Benson to examine the underwear hanging by her finger when her other hand accidentally slipped beneath Freddie's pillow. She patted on another piece of fabric that felt foreign against the sheets and the pillow itself. Marissa slowly clawed her fingers back and true enough, another garment emerged from beneath, its bright color contrasting the dark blue blankets.

_Panties._

All the while, Freddie sat uneasily in the dining room while drinking a glass of blueberry juice. He could not think of any other excuse to get his mom to leave for at least five more minutes, just enough time for Carly to escape from her hiding place. Worry began to fill him as he thought how Carly was doing inside its closed confines. Throwing everything to chance, Freddie gulped the rest of the juice and made his way back.

Mrs. Benson's mind rapidly whirred now. _Why did Freddie have these articles of women's clothing?_ She held both pieces, one on each hand as she stared at them. _They're even in matching lilac color, and could be Freddie's size!_ Marissa decided that Freddie might have a personal problem, and she needed to talk to him about this as soon as possible. Unbeknownst to Mrs. Benson, those pieces of clothing belonged to someone else in the vicinity of the very room she was currently in.

In a few more moments, Freddie reentered his bedroom. After quickly hiding the discovered underwear, Marissa beckoned her son to sit beside her.

"Freddie, we need to talk." Marissa tried her voice to be as calm as possible.

In an attempt to act as if he's not hiding anything, Freddie nodded with a slightly bemused look.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Mrs. Benson sighed, "Oh, I don't know how to converse with you about this. Perhaps it might help if it's your Dad who can talk and help you with this, if only he hadn't left us, bless his soul…"

"Why is Dad brought up to this matter? What's going on?"

"Freddie, you know very well that I also wanted a daughter, yet I am given a son, right?"

"Right..."

"I heard during these times, hormones of teens seem to make them astray; to question their own… identity."

"Okay…"

"I'm now thinking, it would be better if perhaps you must stay in a seminary after high school."

"Uhm, what? Why?"

Apparently, Mrs. Benson thought Freddie did not get her point, so she further elaborated. "You know, Freddie. The Bible stated that on the sixth day, God created Adam and Eve; am I correct?"

"Sure, but…"

"Man and woman, Freddie. Boy and girl, male and female. There is no gender… _in between_. I repeat: no - thing." Her blue bulbous eyes stared at Freddie, as if scanning him from within.

"Mom, what is this all about?"

Marissa took out Carly's underwear from behind her, holding one on each hand with a _will-you-care-to-explain-this_ look on her son. "Then, why do you have… these?"

"Oh, about that." Freddie chuckled innocently. "Where did you get 'em?" He quickly added.

"I found this in your closet. And under your pillow," said Mrs. Benson, her tone soft yet dangerous.

"Uh…" Freddie was now lost for words, giving a short glance on the bathroom door as if begging for some help from the girl hiding inside its premises.

"Is Carly smuggling you girls' underwear behind my back? When did it start?"

"What?"

"Don't what-what me, Fredward Benson. I always told you not to expose yourself too much to those insolent girls, especially that brunette sassy pants and that blonde brute!"

Carly spent the entire time stranded and pacing in the bathroom, occasionally pressing her ear against the door to eavesdrop on the Bensons' conversation. As much as she wanted to snicker on Mrs. Benson's overbearing motherhood antics and her apparent doubt on Freddie's identity crisis, Carly couldn't help raising an eyebrow on hearing every chance Marissa could give a snide comment on her (and Sam), aside from being "the one who nearly caused Freddie's death". Now frantic on how Freddie was losing control over the situation, Carly wanted to hide in a more secure location until Freddie can get her out undetected. Funny as the idea seemed to her, the bathroom window would be a very bad choice unless she wanted a headline for the Seattle Tribune for a famous teenage girl plummeting to her own oblivion; it would defeat the very reason why Freddie had saved her in the first place.

All of a sudden, Carly stepped on a small water puddle on the bathroom's ceramic floor and lost her footing, causing her to step back uncontrollably towards the open toilet seat. Her bottom went straight around the rim of the bowl; she would have yelped out loud if she hadn't quickly placed her hand over her mouth, but unfortunately her other hand had slapped on the toilet flush in its dire need of something to hold on. A loud whooshing sound ensued and Carly could feel the vortex of blue toilet water spinning just a centimeter below her pants, her legs parted wide in a very embarrassing angle.

"What was that?" Mrs. Benson said in a startled voice, her head turning towards the bathroom from where the noise came from.

Freddie was alarmed once again, his voice went high pitched. "Mom, that's nothing – it's just the toilet – it had some problems when I tried flushing it – I've called the plumber earlier…"

He tried to pull back his mom to prevent her from standing up, but Marissa staunchly left the bed to approach the bathroom. Freddie sank his face onto one hand and heard the bathroom door swung open.

Carly attempted to pull her rear from being stuck along the rim, but the damage has been done. The door opened up and Mrs. Benson towered between the doorposts; Marissa looked at Carly like a human X-Ray machine; her blue rounded eyes seemed to bulge from her sockets. Carly could have sworn that her red hair flared up the way she stared at her intently, much like how Mr. Howard or Ms. Briggs caught a student red-handed. Carly's own eyes went wider when she saw her possessions in Mrs. Benson's hand.

Carly finally managed to pull herself from the rim and sit properly around the toilet's rim. "Hi, Mrs. Benson," she chuckled nonchalantly. Looking back down on her very awkward situation, she added, "Uhm, call of nature."

"Out." Marissa ordered flatly.

Carly wordlessly got up from the toilet and went back to Freddie's bedroom while Marissa examined the bathroom further, like both kids might have hidden something or someone else inside. Carly sat back beside Freddie; both looked at each other with a mixture of irritation, worry, and amusement.

"Tsk, tsk. Great job in hiding," Freddie mused dryly in a soft voice.

"Oh yes, and you did buy me a lot of time there." Carly snarked back grinning. "What will we do now?"

"I dunno; perhaps just go with the flow. I don't even know what the chizz my mom is asking me now."

"How are your fingers?"

"Still painful, but doing better."

Knowing they were out of Marissa's eyesight for a brief moment, Carly reached out her hand towards Freddie's throbbing fingers and gently squeezed them between her palm and thumb in a massaging motion.

"I hope this helps."

Groaning softly, Freddie smiled back, "Thanks."

Both teens ended up their whispering conversation and Carly quickly drew back her hand from Freddie's when Marissa returned from the bathroom, still bearing the stalwart look of her face that caused both teens to sit straight back up on the bed.

"You, sit a foot-long distance away from my son." Mrs. Benson demanded.

"What?" Carly asked in a bemused tone. Marissa took a tape measure from a drawer and pulled out a length from Freddie's hips to a space exactly one foot long away from him.

"Sit here." She said, tapping on the vacant space.

"Okay." Carly replied flatly. She moved her rear to the indicated distance and sensed a pang of guilt when she felt like being Freddie when she always asked him to move a distance from her in the web show. The moment seemed like the Gordian knot to her stomach; she just reasoned out to herself that she was exclusively dating Griffin at the time and wanted Freddie in "the safe zone".

Both of them coughed when Mrs. Benson eagerly sprayed a disinfecting aerosol in the area of the bed's foot-long space between them. "What was that for?" Carly said, both she and Freddie fanning the strong mist away with their hands.

"Don't mind that, missy." Mrs. Benson quipped. "Could you explain what these two pieces of ladies' clothing are doing in my son's dresser?"

Carly looked on Freddie, who just shrugged as a reply. She couldn't think of a good excuse; as much as she hated lying, to admit that she and Freddie were about to do something very intimate might even be very dangerous for both of them.

"Ah… Mrs. Benson…"

"Are you smuggling girls' underwear to my little Fredward?"

"What?"

"Are you turning him into a lady on my back?"

"Again, what?"

"Have you both become deaf?" Marissa asked in irritation. "Then, explain what you are doing within the half hour I was gone."

Carly and Freddie both stammered vehemently, voices overlapping each other. "It's nothing… yeah, nothing!"

Marissa responded with another bulbous stare and an eyebrow raise.

"I was…" Desperate for any other excuse, Carly resorted to change the topic, poking her index finger into Freddie's mouth, "Taking his temperature!"

"What do you mean…" Freddie gagged at Carly's surprise move but innocently played along, sucking on her finger like a pacifier. Carly muttered under her breath to ten, silently and quickly.

Retrieving her now wet finger, she beamed, "There! Ninety-eight point six! Healthy as a duck!"

Marissa stood from the bed and drew out one of Freddie's anti-bac briefs from his dresser. She held it out to their faces from a distance, much to Freddie's horror.

"My son wears these," She stretched the briefs wide, "and not these," she then held up Carly's underwear before their eyes and finalized, "Capisce?"

Carly rolled her eyes, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. It looked quite clear that Mrs. Benson still never got the implications of the entire mystery that rather made the situation even more awkward for both teenagers.

Freddie himself was getting impatient. "Look, Mom, let's just take it this way…" With a deep breath, he resumed. "Carly is like…" He and Carly exchanged glances, and "Carly is now my girlfr…"

"_WHAT THE YUCK?_" Mrs. Benson shrieked, causing both Carly and Freddie to jump back and bounce comically on the bed. "You almost got killed and got yourself a girlfriend?" She added in a rising voice that sounded like a song, "Remember the rhyme: _When Freddie gets himself a girlfriend; Mommy sees to it, it has to end!_"

"I thought you wanted me…" Now it was Carly who glanced back at Freddie, "to love your son. Then…"

Freddie interrupted, "Mom, I also thought you want me to have a girlfriend!"

"Not unless your girlfriend will end you up six feet below the ground or dress you up like a doll!"

Both of them groaned in exasperation. Carly thought of one final resort to give Mrs. Benson the point…

"Well, perhaps I'd better go now, Mrs. Benson…" With another look at Freddie, she squeezed his hand again and leaned over to kiss him by the corner of his lips. "Freddie… Bye." She quickly got up from his bed and sprinted on large steps, knowing that she had Marissa's scandalized stare on her.

Carly was a few steps near the door when Marissa began flailing the pieces of underwear she was holding in both hands. Carly was surprised and attempted to fend off the garments whipping on her long sleeves.

"No, Mom! Carly, don't leave!" Freddie helplessly protested from his bed.

"As much as I'd want to, Freddie…" Carly groaned, "She's beating me with my – our – your underwear!" She could not decipher which word she had to use, but her shirt offered enough protection to defend herself from Marissa's wordless flogging. At least, she miraculously managed to snag her own undergarments from Marissa's grip and sprinted out of Freddie's bedroom. Carly was still relieved that Mrs. Benson had used their underwear against her rather than Freddie's saber that stood on the doorway.

Mrs. Benson looked back on Freddie with disbelief, even more confused with what she just heard. "Did she say 'my' underwear and just kissed you? Oh, Freddie!"

Carly had never known if Marissa's voice was that of anger, nausea or joy. She hoped that she had left some sort of clue to clarify Mrs. Benson's doubts on Freddie. All she heard last was his agonized voice, "Oh, no, no, no Mom… Mom!" as the sound of aerosol began spraying on him again.

* * *

Now all alone again after her bold and brazen moment with Freddie and its resulting ordeal with Mrs. Benson, Carly took the time to go to the Benson's main bathroom to re-outfit herself. After a few minutes of putting back all her articles of clothing, she quickly stepped out of the apartment and closed the main door shut. Carly leaned on the door and exhaled deeply, finally finding a moment of peace yet still worried on Freddie's condition.

She moved towards her own apartment door when someone leapt out behind the potted plant on the corner of the hallway. "Hi, Carls!"

Carly retreated back to the door and shrieked. Sam stood before her, armed with her blow tube gun and clad in camouflage fatigues with her cap covered in leafy branches. The blonde greeted her with a cheery smile, amused at Carly's reaction.

"You scared me." Carly gasped, hyperventilating on the spot.

Sam chuckled, "Yeah, I saw that."

"What are you doing behind that bush?"

Sam caressed her blow tube gun. "Lying in wait, so I can get the drop on Spencer when he comes home."

Carly nodded silently in response, but Sam had seen the brunette's unique absent-minded smile that could reach both her ears and the rising redness of her cheeks.

"Man, you looked even whiter than usual!" she remarked. When Carly automatically patted both her cheeks in reaction, Sam added, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Carly giggled defensively. She moved towards her door, fumbling her pocket for her keys.

"Is Freddie okay?"

"Yes…" Carly replied and turned back at Sam in a dubious tone, "What are you, the girl of many questions?" She stood inside after she had unlocked the door, Sam staying still behind her.

The blonde needed further justification on her best friend's peculiar behavior. "Uh, what just happened in there?"

"Nothing..." Carly answered, still bearing her jittery smile. "I don't know!" She then quickly shut the door.

Sam remained standing still, shrugging her shoulders, completely perplexed and confused.

The door reopened as Carly's head bobbed out with a declared shrilly, "_I KISSED FREDDIE!_"

In another second, she leaned back inside and slammed the door shut.

Sam approached the closed door, "You kissed Freddie?" she called back with a chuckle.

"Yes." Carly's voice guiltily replied from the other side.

"Well, let me in there."

"No. You're gonna hit me."

Sam laughed, "Have I ever hit you?"

"No."

"Dude, do you want to talk about this?"

Dead silence rang as Carly hesitated. She roughly opened the door and Sam found herself gripped by her camo shirt and pulled into the loft.

They both sank on the couch when Sam began the conversation, "Okay Carly, tell me everything that happened."

"It all started when I brought him cupcakes. Mrs. Benson left us for around half an hour, he fell out of his shower, I helped him back onto his bed, we had some argument about all the 'hero' thingy, and then… I – I kissed him."

"Whoa…" Sam retorted, amused and stupefied at the same time.

"Then… we made out, I guess… kinda lost track of time… and, we almost… did it." Carly squealed at the last phrase.

"Wait, what do you mean 'almost did it'?" Sam inquired, gesturing an air quote motion.

"Well, you know…" Carly spoke tentatively, raising her eyebrows while rolling her eyes downward. "That."

Sam grasped her best friend by the shoulders and shook her vigorously, "Oh my god Carls! Now, I'm impressed how bad you could be! Ew, not that I wanna retch violently, but why with Benson? What food did that dork give you to be that bold? A plate of Fredducini Alfreddo with a dash of Benson leaves?"

"No, no, no, no, no… It's just… I appreciated him even more when he risked his life for me."

"Wait, wait, wait; don't tell me you now have feelings for the wacko."

"Well, Mrs. Benson almost got us caught. Long story, though." Carly chuckled nervously. "If I say I am beginning to love Freddie, are you gonna get mad at me, punch me or something?" she added anxiously.

Sam scoffed, "Of course not; but I hold no promises for Fred-weird."

"Sam, please be nice to him. He saved me."

"Alright, I'll let the dork-wad pass for now after what he did. If not for him, we might have lost you by now."

Carly sighed. "Thanks, Sam. You're the best." She gave a tight embrace to the petite blonde.

"The catch, just don't be too lovey-dovey in front of me. A high-level combination of nice girl and nerd boy will be too much nausea for Mama to handle. And… don't rush yourselves too early, kid." Sam winked at her with a pat on the shoulder.

Carly reciprocated a smile. "Anyway, what's up with you and Spencer's game of Assassin?"

"Ah, which reminds me!" Sam leapt up of the couch, facing the door with blow tube in mouth. "Mama needs to be back to her post before Spencer catches her off-guard. Anyway, see you and Freddie on Monday!"

"See you, Sam." Carly said as Sam tiptoed out of the loft and closed the door. She then sat back on the couch cross-legged, staring on the blank television screen with her male best friend's face in mind.

After a few more seconds, the door went partly open and Sam's head leaned inside.

"And Carly, one more thing."

"What?" Carly broke out of her trance-like state.

"You left your shoes on the Bensons' door." Sam said, sliding the pair of red sneakers along the floor that stopped right below Carly's spot on the couch.

"Thanks again, Sam." She beamed at her, the blush of her cheeks more visible than ever.

"Dang, Carly. You do are in love with Freddork. I better might as well leave you in your thoughts." Sam laughed back as she closed the door.

Carly laid herself on the couch, cuddling a pillow as she gazed on the bright white ceiling. Her heart beat rapidly in anticipation of seeing and accompanying her rescuer and apple of the eye back in school flooding her entirely.

* * *

**Song Title/Lyrics Reference: **_**I Think We're Alone Now**_ - Tiffany (That 80s song always comes to mind for the sole reason of their 30+ minute make-out session)

The 3 chapter titles are all song titles from a legendary band. Guess.

**Author's Note:** There you have it, my alternative interpretation of the C/F's 36 minutes on how the talk (non-existent in the episode) between C/S turned up before Sam deduced that Carly was yet in the "foreign bacon" state since I'm sticking to the main plot. I'm a bit disappointed I can't insert Spencer's reaction for C/F's relationship into this fic given the C/S convo.

As my thoughts for the episode itself: Sam's reaction isn't of jealousy, but emphasizes her more supportive and mature side, and her scene with Freddie is like a big sisterly adviser to a sibling not to rush on relationships. Other fans might deny it or not, this episode is indeed an implied promise episode between Carly and Freddie that deepens their friendship and emotional relationship. Though the episode still feels lacking on the C/F development (much better if it's an hour), I'm quite satisfied with the overall outcome of the plot.

I hope you enjoyed the conclusion of the fic. Please read and review. Thanks and Do Svidanya!

**PS:** For the curious, yes, baked seafood (clams, oysters, mussels) exist. But not that Mrs. Benson kind of recipe of course. It's mainly butter, garlic, cheese, and bread. It tastes good actually.


End file.
